Oct 11, 2011

A perfect fall chili made with pumpkin puree, ground turkey, white beans, green chili and spices. Top this with chopped fresh cilantro, scallions, jalapeños, light sour cream, and/or reduced fat cheddar and serve it with baked chips on the side for a wonderful lunch or dinner.

I am so happy to share this one with you!!! Not all my crock pot experiments get me excited, but when they do they wind up here on Skinnytaste. The pumpkin is not sweet at all, in fact, if you don't mention it, no one would even know it's there but it does add beautiful color to the chili and for picky eaters, a great way to sneak in vegetables.

This is pretty mild as far as heat goes, if you want more kick use chipotle chili powder in place of the chili powder and use it according to your taste. Leftovers can be frozen, enjoy!

Looks delicious! I just "pinned" it to my recipes & will try it when it gets just a little bit cooler. It's so nice to have recipes available that are so yummy looking and include ingredients I not only have actually heard of, but I have in my pantry! =)

You mentioned that after the meat is added to cook it for 4 (or 8) hours and then again after all the other ingredients are added? Is this a type-o or is it cooked twice?

..I don't have a crock pot (and have no room for one in our tiny condo) - any tips on how to make this on the stove top? Just like I would a normal chili (which to me is when everything is cooked through and it tastes good, eat it), or should I let it go for a long time on low?

Ok I think you read my mind...I was making your Chicken Taco Chili the other day (delicious!) and randomly wondered what pumpkin chili would taste like. I thought it sounded weird and ridiculous but this looks amazing! So creative. You (and your pancakes, cupcakes, and cookies) have officially converted me to a pumpkin freak!

Oh I have to try this. I just roasted WHOLE pumpkins! It was soooooo much easier than the crockpot,no cutting just olive oil on all the skin then into the oven at 400 degrees for 1hr... skin peels right off as well as the stem. I just pureed the pumpkin after removing seeds. Its awesome. I had two small pumpkins we had just picked at an orchard and got about 9-10 cups of puree plus a bunch of pumpkin seeds which I roasted with cinnamon sugar! Yum! With all that puree I will be adding this to the list for sure! Thanks!

This looks WONDERFUL!! I have been looking for new soups that I can make and freeze to have for lunches during the week. I am terrible at taking the time for myself with my 2-year-old running around. Can't wait to make this on Sunday to have on hand - especially with cooler weather coming back my way :)!

Forgot to ask - I have the 3.5 quart Cuisinart crockpot as well as a larger one. Should I use the larger one for this or will it fit in the smaller? Seems like it might be a lot for the smaller one......

Hi Gina, Thanks for all the great recipes! I have enjoyed many of them. I was wondering what you think about making this with dry navy beans? Would you have to soak them first? How long do you think they would have to cook for? Thanks for all that you do :)

Actually, I recently learned that for white beans live navy, etc., unless they're old, you really don't need to pre-soak. But in any event, if you do make this recipe with dry beans (as I just did) you'll need to increase the liquid. I doubled the stock used in this recipe, and used "rice" beans, a smaller, faster cooking white bean. The beans and everything were done in 4 hours. I would imagine a larger bean might need a little more cooking time.

This looks great! I'm confused about the PointsPlus number, though. A mere 3 PPV for this sounded too good to be true, so I plugged the ingredients into WW Recipe Builder and came up with 7 PPV per 9 servings. I was wondering if you really used TWO lbs ground turkey, so I changed it to ONE lb and Recipe Builder says 5 PPV/9 servings with that change. Whether it's 5 or 7 PPVs, it's still a good number and I'll be making this. It's just not 3 PPV! :-)

P.S. There's no option on RecipeBuilder for 99% f/f ground turkey, so I calculated using 93% f/f which is what I normally buy and is more widely available.

Amy just rechecked and everything appears to be correct. Make sure the turkey is raw in recipe builder, you may want to just put in skinless turkey breast (same thing). Not sure if different brand of beans would change this, I used Goya.

A) Amazingly, the brand of beans does make a difference. RecipeBuilder lists Goya Great Northern Beans as 12 PPV for 30 oz. However, "Beans, great northen, canned" is 22 PPV for 30 oz. That's odd to mean since one would think that "beans are beans." I'm going to have to compare labels on my next trip to the store!

B) Even with this change and using 2 lb "Jennie-O Turkey Store Extra Lean Ground Breast," I'm still coming up with 5 PPV/9 servings.

I'm not doubting you, I'm just really confused about what I could be doing wrong. I've been using RecipeBuilder for 4 years (lost 140 lbs with WW!) and have never had such a discrepency before.

I also notice that RecipeBuilder is listing the 2 tsp of cumin as 1 PPV. That's odd to me too. Can that really be possible? It's a SPICE!

This recipe looks so delicious, I can't wait to try it! BTW, I also ran it through WW Recipe Builder and got 5 points per serving using 2 pounds of 99% fat-free ground turkey breast and assuming it makes 9 servings. If you use 1 pound of turkey, it will be 3 points per serving. I'm going with that one!

And it just dawned on me that if you do use only 1 pound of ground turkey to get the three point serving, one serving will not equal 1 cup since you are reducing the overall amount of ingredients. Bon appetit!

Aside from muffins, I've never used pumpkin as an ingredient...and certainly not in a dish that's savory. After reading the recipe, I knew I had to give it a shot...low and behold...it was fantastic!!! If you didn't know, you would never guess that 1) there were no tomatoes in the dish and 2) they had been replaces but pumpkin. Thank you, thank you for yet another delicious dish that my boys (13,10 & 4) all love as much as mom and dad. Keep up the excellent work!

Amy- I always check labels, no idea why but I see this often for different foods.

Since I don't normally input the values in recipe builder, but rather get the nutritional info first (for my calorie counters) then I plug in the values into the WW calculator, perhaps there is a discrepancy? Although technically there shouldn't be. Just to be sure, you are using canned beans and not dry, correct?

Gina,I also entered this recipe into WW e-tools Recipe Builder and came up with 5 pts+. I only made a half of your recipe, and while preparing this, I drained and rinsed the canned navy beans and then weighed them and it was 9 oz. of beans. So I went back into Recipe Builder and changed the amount to 9 oz and now it is 4 pts+. I have this in my crock-pot right now and it already smells delicious! I love PUMPKIN and can't wait to try this tonight. Thanks for the great recipes. I voted for your blog on the Shape Magazine web contest, too! Good Luck!

I'm coming up with 5 PP too, and I've only got 1.25 lbs raw, 99% FF turkey in the recipe builder. Still, that's a great point value for this chili. I've got it in the crock pot now and it smell delicious!

I made this last night and it is fantastic! I whipped up my batch on the stove since I was working late and didn't have time to leave it in the crock pot before supper time. Even only using the 1.25 lb package of 99% lean ground turkey, this recipe makes a nice large pot.

I paired this with the garlic cheddar biscuits as a side (they're fabulous dipped in the chili!) and had the pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin spiced cream cheese frosting for desert. My parents are staying in a five star hotel with fabulous restaurants and they were completely jealous when I told them what I had for dinner.

I made this chili today and just had a bowl of it....FABULOUS!! It's hearty and the flavor is full. You would never know it is "healthy" or that there is pumpkin in it. Whether it's 3, 4 or 5 points, it's worth every one. Comfort food at it's best. Thank you so much! This is the first "Gina" recipe I've made; I'm anxious to try more!

I made this this weekend for my husband and I and we have enjoyed it over 3 meals so far! So definitely enough to last a couple of days. We both did have to about double the spice and some salt to bring the flavor out, but I loved the depth of flavor that is added by the pumpkin. Really great recipe, i'll be making this again! Thank you!

This is cooking in my crockpot right now and smells DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't have any ground turkey so I used shredded chicken instead. I just sneaked a little taste....YUM!!!!!!! Thanks for the recipe!

This recipe is wonderful! I used black beans rinsed and drained, and chicked breasts diced up, just to change it up a little. My husband could not believe it had pumpkin in it. I also added one can of diced tomatoes.

I made this last night and it was delicious!! I love pumpkin and this is such a great PP value. I added a diced red bell pepper. I may throw in some kale, too, for tonight's leftovers. Delish!! Thank you!

This is the first recipe of yours that I have tried, and I am already addicted to your site! This chili was delicious--the only thing I did differently was use fresh jalepenos instead of canned chiles. Can't wait to try more of your recipes!

I made this last night and it was soooo good! I added some pumpkin spice seasoning to it, too. I like the flavor it adds :) Unfortunately, my grocery store was all out of 99% FF Ground Turkey, so I had to settle for 50% FF. I think it increased old points to 5. Still good, but next time, I gettin' the 99% FF :)

Delish! To our taste, we prefer more cumin and chile powder, at least double the amount. And I di double the amount of broth. The family thought it needed additional salt. Other than that, (very minor tweaking for personal taste), it was very nice. A keeper for this fall! And you can't go wrong with the # of WW points. We topped with Trader Joe's ff Greek yogurt (you'd never know it wasn't sour cream). I had no problem finding 99% ff turkey breast.

Tried this last night I only had the big can of pumpkin so I used the whole thing and I added a Jar of Tomatillo Salsa Verde, the extra pumpkin made it thicker which my family likes and the salsa added more chilies and onions. I also took your suggestion and used ground chipotle to spice it up a bit. I had a butternut squash laying around so I roasted that in the oven for 40 min and put it on the side but my family decided they liked it added to the chili, guess it gave a little sweet to the heat. Very good I will make it again!.

I made this chili while camping, but was worried about the pumpkin being in it since no one likes pumpkin. Have to say it was great!!! The kids and the husband like it; great having something warm while sitting by the campfire. I did add sirrachi sauce to mine (my husband also) because we like heat. Thank you for such a great resource for wwp+ along with wonderful recipes!!!!

It was too bland for my family. We added sriracha to it and it tasted better. I think the lack of acid from tomatoes (like in traditional chili) left something missing. I did 2t chili powder, although in my traditional recipe I usually do 2 T so that might help in addition to some cayenne or red pepper flakes.

This recipe was delicious. I made it last night and your pumpkin cupcakes this morning. Both were great! I have been reading your blog for awhile and finally decided to try some recipes. They are delicious!!!!

This was good and different. I doubled the recipe to have lots in the freezer for lunches. I added one can of rotel for a little more zest...I hope your points are right, cause I'll be eating a lot of this!

Just ate for dinner. Delicious. I ended up using only 1.25 lb turkey and 3 cups of broth. I also found that I like it without the sour cream better. I can see how some might like more zip to it by adding more spices, but the recipe was perfect for my family. Mine ended up being 5 servings at 7 PP each. My husband couldn't believe it was pumpkin. He questioned why someone would use pumpkin if you aren't going to taste it. I will definitely make this again.

I'm wondering if this would be fine without the pumpkin? Trader Joe's was all sold out when I got there, but I would love to make this tomorrow. Are there any substitutions you would suggest? Thank you!

My husband and I really enjoyed this dish! The kids are not chili fans :-(I'm planning to make it again, this time for guests. I think what I liked best was that the chili was not acidic as a tomato-based chili is, it was creamy and comforting. Thank you for all your work on these recipes, Gina!

I made this this weekend and husband and teenage son, who've been quite annoyed with my dinners since starting weight watchers, really liked it. I think next time I'll increase some of the spices to give it a bit more of a kick, but it was great!

I'm loving your site! Without these recipes my family would likely revolt as I learn all the weight watchers rules!

Yummy!!! I made this for my girlfriends for lunch (we're all on WW). I wish I had doubled the recipe. I like a little more heat so will add more chili powder next time. This is definitely a KEEPER! Thanks Gina.

I made this Monday and it was delish! The hubby even snuck a bowl for lunch while I was at work. He said he couldn't resist while smelling it all day. Next time I'll have to make it while he's at work. lol. Brought the leftovers for some friends and they all enjoyed it. Also made the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes and they were also a big hit. I had to take them to work so I would stop eating them! Thanks Gina for all of your great recipes. I tell everyone I know about them and anytime we have a potluck or family get together this is the first place I look for new recipes to try!

Hi, Gina! Quick question...is this one of those yummy recipes that's better the next day, or is it best the same day? We're having a chili cook-off at work on Halloween Day, and I'm torn between this recipe and the Chicken Taco Chili. I want to cook the chili on Sunday, so all I have to do is warm it up on Monday morning before lunch. Thanks so much!!

Hi Gina, I think I already posted how much we love this recipe!!! I've made it twice in two weeks and have not been able to freeze any yet. I'll try again next week. I think what I like best about it is that it's not acidic like tomato-based chili. I did add a bit a cayenne pepper for a little heat and a little more cumin, but found the recipe to be delicious as written. THANK YOU!PS I'm glad to see the points+ value boosted. I called it 4 when tracking as 3 just seemed too good to be true.

This is simply fabulous, genius, creative and delicious! The savory ingredients disguise the pumpkin but it retains its character somehow! I subbed turkey sausage for the added flavor - 90%, not 99%,which certainly affected the point value, but I didn't calculate it. It's worth the points!!! This has become an instant classic according to my family!

My husband and I just made a batch for dinner tonight! It looks soooo good! It is about 30 degrees here and the perfect weather for chili. We are also going to make the Skinny Apple Cobble for a special treat. This is our first time using Skinny Taste and we are loving it! The step by step instructions, including pictures, are a great help to those that may be a little challenged in the kitchen! JeffrosGirl09

Gina, I'm so glad I stumbled upon your website! I started Weight Watchers for the first time on Sunday, and I don't think I could have committed to it if I hadn't found all these wonderful recipes.

I made the Turkey Chili in the crock pot last night to bring for lunch at work. I can't get over how easy it was to make, and how delicious it is! And, to make it even better, I divided my batch into the recommended 9 1-cup servings, and a serving has left me full. Awesome recipe!

This recipe is AWESOME!! My husband hates pumpkin (i know...such a travesty!) I told him pumpkin was in it, and he was extremely skeptical...but he LOVED it!! It is so good. It freezes well also. I added a whole fresh jalapeno - seeds and all! Added such a great spice :-) Thanks for all your great recipes! I love your blog

I just put this all in my crock pot, and it looks great, but doesn't seem to have much liquid in there as of right now. I followed your recipe exactly with the chicken broth, etc. Will the liquid increase over the 8 hours? THanks!!!

Made this recipe the other night in my dutch oven on the stove. Didn't have time to crock pot it, but let it simmer for about an hour on stove.

I added 2 chopped and seeded fresh jalapenos and sauteed those a little with the garlic and onions. I also used almost 4 cups of chicken broth in order to get it to the consistency I liked. A few extra spices like cayenne, zatarain's big and zesty, and red pepper flakes were also added for extra flavor.

This was absolutely delicious! My boyfriend really liked it too! I was able to freeze some and have been eating the rest for lunches or dinner this week. So simple, I will definitely be making again!

I made this today, for the first time i never ate chili or used a crock pot, was the first time for both. It is AWESOME!! love it. I added f/f sour cream and f/f cheddar cheese .. oh my it's the bomb.. my new favorite..Thanks for this.

Hi Gina, wow what another great crock pot recipe. I made this a few weeks ago. I was a little skeptical as I thought the pumpkin would be the overpowering taste, but not the case at all. I added in some fresh cilantro and added in chili pepers from my local farmers market. Thanks again for a great new recipe I'm certain to make this again.

I loved this chili so much. It reheated great, too, from refrigerated and frozen portions. So easy, and so different. I'm not a big cilantro fan, but saw that someone on your FB page highly recommended it, so I put it on and it really flavored the chili well. The cilantro didn't overpower the dish like it can do sometimes. Thanks for all your hard work on these recipes, Gina!!

I made this yesterday but didn't have a chance to eat any of it until this afternoon. It's really interesting, but I thought it was some what bland. I topped it with a little fat free greek yogurt today, but do you have any other suggestions of what I could add to help boost the flavor a bit? Thanks!

I really enjoyed this recipe, but I found it a touch bland and a lot thicker than your picture the first time I made it. This time I added double the stock and some canned chipotle peppers to the batch. Having never worked with the peppers before (I bought them on a whim as I was grabbing the diced chilies next to them in the store) I just diced 4 whole peppers and threw them in without researching their heat.

Well! Let's just say I wasn't thinking of ways to spice it up after that! SO HOT haha. The flavour is great, but next time I will ease up on the amount and scrape off the seeds.

Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I love your site and tell everyone I know about it!

Made it for lunch today and I love it!! I hate pumpkins but you can't even taste it plus I think the puree makes the chili more creamy looking and tasting. And I find it very filling as well..a little bit goes a long way!

Oh my gosh. So i just made this and I don't know what took me so long! I've been meaning to make it since you posted the recipe but I live in Texas, and it really just got cold enough for chili. Anyway, the pumpkin added a great creaminess, and the flavor was awesome. Can't wait for left overs for lunch tomorrow!! Thanks for another out of this world recipe!

Oh me oh my...I just made this chili for the second time and doubled the recipe this time.I added a few different spices:Hot chili powder (in moderation because I have a 2 year old and a 6 tear old)CuminCorianderandSmoked PaprikaI just like to dump and taste as far as spices go.I love this recipe and it's definitely a crowd pleaser, even for the little people in my life.

Tried this today, and it was perfect for a chilly evening. Hubby doesn't do turkey, so it was chicken for us, and I used a lot more cumin and chili powder (and chipotle powder) than the recipe called for. I also added a wedge of lime as a finishing touch. Yum!

I doubled the recipe because we have a big famil - Loving the smell so far!! Can't wait to eat dinner tonight :) I also double checked the points plus because I saw so many question - It was 5 points without the Sour Cream and 6 points with it! This is my first recipe from you site and can't wait to try others out! :)

This chili is FANTASTIC!! I am allergic to tomatoes, a recent allergy, and we have been struggling as a family to adapt to my allergies. Chili was a staple In our home, and I literally cried when I had to give it up. This recipe flawlessly replaces it and I have never been more excited about a recipe in my entire life! Thank you for experimenting and sharing! You have greatly blessed this family!!

love love love this dish! it was great being able to sneak the pumpkin in without my kids realizing it and they cleaned their bowls! QUESTION though....are there any other recipes you can think of sneaking pumpkin into? i really loved the depth of flavor it added and also the nutrients it provided my family :)

I tried this a couple weeks ago and simply forgot to post my comment, but we LOVED this. We ended up not eating it the same night I made it (I can't remember why) but we were eating it at nearly every meal for the next several days and not getting tired of it! Looking forward to more pumpkin recipes, I bought a LOT of it while I could find it in the stores!

Hi Gina! Just found your website this weekend and this will be my third recipe I am trying. I actually have all the ingredients prep for tomorrow and I am making it for my work's Soup Club. I am so excited to try it and share the reviews with you. Thank you for such an amazing website!

I LOVED it. Totally easy and delish! The different flavors come together magically, and it's truly healthy.

Two suggestions: I preferred lemon pepper added at the end as it balances the chili flavor well. Though I usually love sour cream in soup, I felt it dulled the brilliant flavor of this one.

One question: Why is four hours in a crock pot needed when everything is cooked before it goes in? Mine was totally done and piping hot after two hours on high, and probably sooner than that. I think 2 hrs on high, or 4 hrs on low is more than enough.

Thanks again for the fabulous recipe! Who would have thought to add pumpkin? genius.

If you were to make it with tofu (see my previous comment) - would you cook it beforehand like you cook the meat? I'm assuming that it's not necessary but please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm planning to make it this week with tofu - I'll let you know how it tastes!

Found this recipe via Pinterest back in Jan when I started WW Points+. A huge hit in my household. My 6 yr old son said "mom, this is a keeper!" This is almost a weekly staple meal in our home, especially since I roasted and pureed about 10 large pumpkins last fall! I love the flavor and the creaminess given by the pumpkin is YUMMY! I've told all my friends and family about it! Anyone that thinks it's bland must not know how to "season to taste"!

Just made this last night for the first time. Oh my gosh. It was amazing! Everyone loved it, especially my 7 year old. She kept raving about how good it was. And if I'm being honest, I was skeptical about the whole pumpkin thing....you couldn't taste it at all, and I was trying to find it in there! YUM! Thanks for yet another delicious healthy meal. You are amazing!

I made this today and I loved it. I used ground turkey breast and canellini beans. I omitted the sour-cream and cilantro topping. I loved the depth and thickness the pumpkin gave to it. I did think that overall the flavor was a little bland but that's an easy fix. Next time I make this I will find some seasoning to add to the turkey while it's cooking on the stove.I also didn't think it needed to cook the whole 4 hours in the crockpot. I turned it off when it had 1.5 hours left and I thought that was perfect.

So excited for this. I just put it in the pot to cook overnight! I had to grab a quick taste cold and I love the pumpkin as a base. I quadrupled the chili powder and could have easily done more. I can see adding more green chiles and onion as well (but I AM on an onion kick atm). I'm hoping 8 hours on low won't be too much. I might check on it during the night. I think I'll try it with both Greek yogurt and sour cream during separate servings. I might have to check in the PP for some jalapeno biscuits next time! Now off to make Pumpkin Pie Dip!

So the chili turned out fabulous! We got about 12 servings (I had 6 1 cup servings and my husband had 3 double portions). I ended up not using any toppings; it was tasty and filling enough by itself! I turned it off around 7 hours. I will definitely be making this again!

I made this tonight but more of a vegetarian meal, meat substitute crumbles and water cuz I didn't have veggie broth and my family didn't even know the difference. I like that I can adjust the spices to my families preference too!

I made this twice last winter. It was the first recipe I tried from your website and shortly after starting WW. I thought this was a good dish. My 8 year old son LOVED the flavor and had 3 helpings. I like it when things I am cooking for myself turn out to be so good for the whole family. I followed the recipe as written (I don't have the creative outlet with cooking :)

This recipe is sooooo goood! perfect for fall!! If you love pumpkin like I do you need to try this recipe! I also added a jalepeno to the onion and garlic and it gave it a nice kick, as my husband loves spicy chili! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe- its a keeper!!

Made this last weekend to rave reviews from the hubby. My crockpot was inaccessible, so I simmered it on the stovetop for 90 minutes - it smelled divine! It was pretty thick, so I increased the chicken stock to 3 cups, and I also added a minced chipotle chile for some added heat. Loved it and will repeat often!

Overall good chili. But needs more spice and flavor. Will definately make again but will add some spice to the turkey while it is cooking. More peppers/japalenos in the chili? Again, overall the combination is good but kind of flat in flavor.

I have a triple slow cooker unit (each one is 2.5 quarts) and was wondering... if I wanted to try this recipe, should I cut the recipe in half or put half amount in one, and half amount in a second (do this in two of the three units)?

OMGina!!!! Gimme more, gimme more! This was SOOOOO good. I had to supplement with what I had (1 lb of lean ground beef + 1/2 lb Hot Pork Sausage) and it was FANTASTIC. My husband and father stepped it up with some Chipolte Tobasco but the girls (my mom, kids and I) kept it as is and ate heartily. You continue to change my life with such great recipes.

This Chili was so good. I can't wait until I am hungry again so I can have another bowl. The flavor is light, and the combination of ingredients is perfect. It is pretty mild but there isn't anything wrong with that.

Awesome recipe! I made it using Trader Joe's vegetable broth & meat-free chicken strips for a vegetarian version and added some green peppers :) Delicious! Also used a whole pumpkin instead of puree. Worked great and I got some seeds to munch on the side ;) Thanks!

I will be making this tonight! I love all things pumpkin and was excited when I found this. This will be the second recipe of yours for me to try. Your spinach lasagna rolls are AMAZING! My husband isn't one for "Americanized" food, he couldn't get enough of them. I always make them when we have people over for dinner.